Northern border, Yancheng.
In the palace of Prince Zhao, a middle-aged man who looked exactly like Emperor Zhou was practicing his sword.
This person is none other than the most powerful vassal king in the Great Zhou Dynasty, King Zhao—Zhu Kai.
Compared with Emperor Zhou who was terminally ill, Zhu Kai, who had been practicing martial arts for many years, was extremely strong and his martial arts had reached a state of perfection.
"Your Majesty, urgent report from the border!"
Just when King Zhao was practicing his sword, a general ran away.
"Your Majesty, urgent report from the border. The Jurchen army in Jianzhou has made some changes. The Longwuwei Northeast Camp has moved forward!"
King Zhao looked as usual, "Where are the left and right wings of Long Wuwei?! Where is the main force of the rear army?! Has it moved?!"
At the mention of this, the general became indignant, "The left and right wings of the Longwu Army moved forward with its northeastern camp, but the rear camp is still fifty miles away from our army. That Hunjun is still guarding us!"
Although it is not a secret among the top leaders of the Zhao army that King Zhao is interested in becoming a powerful king, in the hearts of the lower-level soldiers and captains under King Zhao, King Zhao has always been a loyal and patriotic king who protects the border. However, he has been jealous of the emperor for no reason. .
This is the image that King Zhao has deliberately created over the years.
Conspiracy is never easy. Taizu has rectified the country and has made great achievements in governing the world. If you conspire for no reason, who will follow you in rebellion? !
You must give people a reason!
In the rebellions of the past dynasties, if it is not that the emperor is immoral and favors the traitor, the sky is dead and the tyrant is punished; it is that the traitor is in power, bewitching the emperor, relying on heaven to appease the emperor, and clearing the emperor's side.
King Zhao took the first path. The emperor had no virtue and appointed traitors and sycophants. He had to bring order to the chaos.
Over the years, King Zhao had created an image for himself among the lower-level officials and soldiers. He was a vassal king who worked hard, worked hard, and defended the country and the borders. However, he was jealous of the emperor because of his excessive military achievements and military power.
This kind of image creation did play a very good role. The soldiers at the bottom of King Zhao's command were basically dissatisfied with the emperor's actions and sympathized with King Zhao.
When he heard that the general was disrespecting the emperor, King Zhao suddenly changed his expression, "Shut up! The emperor is a sage, how can you make such arrogant opinions?!"
"Your Majesty?!"
"If there is a next time! I will engage in military law!"
When the general saw King Zhao's serious expression, he felt even more aggrieved. King Zhao's words not only failed to make the general give up his resentment, but also made him resent the emperor even more deeply.
King Zhao's tricks were deeper than the water in Peach Blossom Pond. He was indeed someone who could make Emperor Zhou fearful and unable to deal with him.
"Go! Let the scouts keep an eye on Jianzhou's movements! Be ready to attack at any time to support the Longwu Army!"
"The last general takes command!"
Although he was very reluctant, the general went to deliver the order angrily.
King Zhao sheathed his sword and looked in the direction of Jianzhou in the northeast, "Trouble on the border is about to happen! However, if there is chaos, I will be more sure!"
-------------------
Yang Qingyuan and Di Zhiyuan ended their interrogation of Yincao Wangli, but as soon as they left the Shanyin Mansion prison, the police officer responsible for going to Shengxian County had returned.
"Master, Master Di! Something happened!"
Li Da, the former Yuezhou Bank Treasurer, was discovered by police officers from Dali Temple and hanged himself in his sister's home. His sister Li Juan and her brother-in-law Niu Wu were missing.
Yang Qingyuan and Di Zhiyuan immediately rushed to Sheng County.
Shanyin Fucheng is more than sixty miles away from Shengxian County, and there are hills and dense forests in the middle. Although there are large roads, the roads are still not very easy to walk.
Especially during the rainy season, the roads were bumpy and they didn't dare to gallop. By the time the two arrived in Sheng County, it was already two hours later.
"Master! Master Di! You are here!"
Yang Qingyuan nodded, and then put on whale skin gloves with Di Zhiyuan.
"How's the on-site investigation going!?"
Over the years, the Dali Temple Criminal Law Academy has not only trained martial artists, but also various legal talents and criminal investigation talents.
"Two adults, this is the scene I'm inspecting!"
Yang Qingyuan took a look and knew this guy!
In the second phase of Dali Temple Criminal Law Academy, Geng Cheng, a student of Chahaoke, specializes in trace inspection.
This person still had a good reputation and was a scholar, but he did not want to become an academic official in the county school or county school. Instead, he joined the Dali Temple Criminal Law Academy. After graduation, Geng Cheng joined the Dali Temple Chaosi Division. His uniform now has two red stripes, one long and one short! He was trained as a key talent by Dali Temple.
"Did you find anything?!"
Geng Cheng entered the house and began to introduce, "Two adults, the facilities in this house have not been changed! Li Da was found hanging in this side room, and the ribbons used for hanging have been put away by us! "
Di Zhiyuan looked around the house. Although Sheng County is only a county town, having such a large house in the county town shows that Li Da's sister's family is in good condition.
Although the house is not a luxury garden, it has a large patio and six large rooms.
For ordinary people's homes, it is already a very big house.
As the head of Yuezhou Bank, Li Da has a low position but little power but heavy responsibility. According to his salary, he will not be able to buy such a house in ten or twenty years.
But he didn't expect that his sister and brother-in-law could have such a big house.
"Li Da was hanging on this beam at that time. The stool was kicked down on the ground, and his feet were flush with the ground. His death state was consistent with the appearance of death. The specific situation needs further inspection. It has now been handed over to the police. It’s the brother in charge of the autopsy!”
Yang Qingyuan nodded, "Any other discoveries?!"
Geng Cheng replied, "No large amounts of gold or silver were found in the house. In addition, Li Juan and Niu Wu were no longer in the house. Two sets of vague footprints were found at the back door of their home, leading to the county road. But the county roads are all paved with bluestones, and once you get to the top, you can’t trace them anymore!”
Di Zhiyuan on the side felt that something was wrong, "When you arrived here, Li Da had been dead for a long time, which means he had time to escape. Why didn't he run away instead of committing suicide?! He could have followed Li Juan. , Niu Wu ran away together! His behavior is unreasonable!"
Geng Cheng hesitated for a moment, "Could it be that he knew that he could not escape his guilt, and even if he ran away today, he would be caught, so he committed suicide in fear of his crime."
"It is possible, but not very likely. There are many mountains and forests in Yuezhou. If Li Da took some food and hid in the mountains, it would be difficult for us to find him! And he was not alone at that time. He should be with his sister and brother-in-law. Together."
Geng Cheng was stunned for a moment, wondering what this had to do with anything.
He is from Chaosi, and reasoning and analysis is not his strong point.
Di Zhiyuan explained, "Generally speaking, if a prisoner lives alone, he is more likely to commit suicide out of fear of crime. Those who have wives and children will cherish their lives more. Li Da should have been with his sister and brother-in-law during his lifetime. , in that situation, it is difficult to have a will to die, so it is normal to escape with the two of them."
Yang Qingyuan asked casually, "By the way! Has the identity of the deceased been confirmed to be Li Da?!"
"Confirmed! There is a waistband as proof of trust, and there is no trace of disguise. It is undoubtedly Li Da himself."
It's not that Yang Qingyuan has any doubts about Li Da's identity, it's just that his opponent may be someone who has set up a trap, so it's always right to be more cautious!
The scene was too simple, and there wasn't much that was suspicious. Even Yang Qingyuan and Di Zhiyuan couldn't see anything suspicious. The most suspicious thing at the scene was the death of Li Da, the treasurer.
"Instructions are sent to the states and counties under Yuezhou to arrest Li Juan and Niu Wu!"
"yes!"
Li Da died, and his sister and brother-in-law ran away, so the clues to the bank were lost again!
Yang Qingyuan and Di Zhiyuan came to the dirt floor of the back door. This back door was different from the front door of the house. The ground of the front door was also paved with stone slabs, so no obvious footprints would be left even if they walked through.
At the back door, there was an ordinary mud floor that had not been repaired. The footprints of Li Juan and Niu Wu were left on the mud floor.
However, the continuous rainy season had already washed away the footprints and blurred them. Fortunately, the agents of Dali Temple's Chaosi Division were able to enlarge the size of the footprints.
Yang Qingyuan didn't use any Qinggong skills, he just stepped on it, and then he discovered the problem.
These footprints shouldn't be left here.
Although the ground is mud, the degree of muddyness is far less than Yang Qingyuan estimated.
If you step on it normally, you will leave clear footprints, but they are not deep.
Judging from the time of Li Da's death, it has been three hours since Li Juan and his wife left.
During these three hours, the rain in Shanyin County did not stop. It was washed away by the rain for three hours. It was impossible to preserve such complete footprints at this level.
After looking at the footprints, Yang Qingyuan and his wife returned to the house, "Gengcheng, have you visited and investigated the neighbors around Li Juan?"
"Sir, I have already asked. Li Juan's family was not originally from Shengxian County. They moved to Shengxian County from the countryside about three months ago. After they moved here, they did not get along well with their neighbors on weekdays. From the contacts, I only know that Niu Wu is a carpenter, and Li Juan’s brother is the treasurer of Yuezhou Governor’s Mansion, but I don’t know much else!”
"Huh?! Are you saying that the neighbors know that Li Juan's brother is the treasurer of Yuezhou Governor's Office?"
"yes!"
Yang Qingyuan was slightly surprised and continued to ask, "Does Li Juan know anyone well among the neighbors?!"
"Well...it doesn't seem to be the case. Li Juan's family has always lived in seclusion."
Then the question arises. Since he lives in seclusion and does not interact with his neighbors, why do the surrounding neighbors know the situation at Li Juan's home.
Knowing that Niu Wu is a carpenter, I can barely understand it. Maybe Niu Wu was seen by his neighbors while he was doing carpentry.
But Li Juan's brother is the treasurer of Yuezhou Governor's Mansion. How did the neighbors know this news?
Li Da lives in Shanyin Fucheng all year round. Even if he occasionally interacts with him during his holidays, the people around him will not know who he is, let alone his official position!
How could ordinary people know about the official system of the imperial court?
"Geng Cheng, go and find out where the news about brother Li Juan becoming an official came from."
"yes!"
Half an hour later, Geng Cheng came to report back.
"Sir, you are humble and incompetent! This news has been circulating for a long time. I only know that it was said by neighbors during gossip, but no one knows who said it specifically!"
"This is not your fault. It is not easy to find out the source of such news. I can't blame you!"
"Thank you, sir!"
…
After checking everything, Yang Qingyuan and Di Zhiyuan planned to leave.
Although Li Da's clue has been broken, they still have other directions to pursue. They can just leave the matter here to the people in Dali Temple.
"Geng Cheng, I will leave the rest of the affairs here to you. Master Di and I will rush back to Shanyin Mansion immediately. After you complete the inspection and investigation, take the evidence and the body and return to Dali Temple!"
"yes!"
Then Yang Qingyuan and Di Zhiyuan hurried back to Shanyin Mansion in the rain.
"Sir, something is wrong with Li Da's death!"
The two of them were galloping in the rain, but Yang Qingyuan used his true energy to block the rain one foot away from the two of them.
"Zhiyuan, tell me!"
"Since Li Da wanted to commit suicide, why did he run sixty miles from the city to Shengxian County to commit suicide?! What did he do with so much effort?! This is one of them."
"Second, there are the footprints that you just discovered. The footprints are too deep. It seems that they were deliberately left for us to find!"
"Thirdly, there is news about Li Juan's family. They obviously live in seclusion. Why do the neighbors know it so clearly? Even the powerful people in Shengxian County may not be able to easily find out such detailed information. After all, there is a door on Li Juan's house. There is no mention of his brother’s official position! But such detailed information is circulated among the neighbors of Li Juan’s family... It’s like..."
Yang Qingyuan added the second half of the sentence for Di Zhiyuan, "It's like deliberately creating Li Juan's character."
"right!"
The four words "create character" are very much in line with Di Zhiyuan's wishes, as if they are deliberately telling others that the person living here is Li Da's sister.
"What about other than that?!" Yang Qingyuan asked.
"Um?!"
These are what Di Zhiyuan has discovered so far, "Does your Excellency have other discoveries?!"
"Zhiyuan, you are really a fan of the authorities! You have ignored one of the most critical issues. How did Li Da know that the matter was exposed?! It was up to you to investigate this matter. You learned about it directly from Yuezhou Yincao Wangli, and then handed it over to the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Someone will handle it! So how did Li Da know about this?! Judging from the time of his death, he obviously left Shanyin Fucheng before you ordered the arrest. Who told him about this? Woolen cloth?!"
"this……"
Di Zhiyuan, as the chief officer investigating the matter, didn't realize it before, but now that Yang Qingyuan mentioned it, he realized that something was wrong!
The only people who knew about the silver box were him and a few Dali Temple police officers, and then the people from the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Could it be that someone among them tipped off the news, so Li Da ran away?
"What do you mean, sir... there is a traitor?!"
"..." Yang Qingyuan was silent for a moment. Although this reason was nonsense, it could well explain why Li Da fled early.
"Of course, there is another possibility. Wang Li of Yincao notified Li Da of the matter, so Li Da fled in a hurry." Di Zhiyuan added, "But after all, Wang Li was investigated for accepting bribes because of Li Da. If he doesn't harbor resentment, he is already open-minded. It’s so broad, how could it be possible to tip someone off?!”
Yang Qingyuan smiled slightly, "It's not impossible. What if there are other transactions between Wang Li and Li Da besides these twelve taels?!"
"this……"
"Let's wait until we return to Shanyin Mansion to check everything... drive!"
"drive!"
Two fast horses galloped towards Shanyin Mansion in the rain.
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